The Raiders have 17 unrestricted free agents. Coach Dennis Allen on Monday in his year-end news conference that re-signing some of those players figures to be critical in the Raiders stability for next season and beyond.
Allen mentioned defensive end Lamarr Houston, offensive tackle Jared Veldheer and safety Charles Woodson as free agents he is interested in the Raiders bringing back.
Here’s a complete list of the unrestricted free agents:
Offense — wide receiver Jacoby Ford, Veldheer, running back Darren McFadden and Rashad Jennings, offensive linemen Khalif Barnes, Tony Pashos and Andre Gurode and tight end Jeron Mastrud.
Defense — defensive ends Houston and Jason Hunter, defensive tackles Vance Walker, Pat Sims and Daniel Muir, safeties Woodson and Usama Young, and cornerbacks Tracy Porter and Mike Jenkins.
Houston said after Sunday’s game that it’s “very possible” that he had played his final game with the Raiders and that he wasn’t sure if the Raiders wanted him back.
Here’s his words verbatim.
“I believe that Dennis Allen and the Raiders might be looking to move on and have me go to another team or move on and find something more what they want for their system and their scheme,” Houston said. “Who knows? It’s a rough business and nothing’s guaranteed and everything changes from day to day.”
Later that day, Houston took to Twitter to change his tune.
“I would love to b back in Oakland if they will take me. Best fans in the league … u listen to the media, u a fool.”
Maybe the media can jog Houston’s memory by playing back a tape from the interview in question. The fools in the media would be glad to play back the tape recording, and they were prepared to do so Monday, though Houston didn’t come into the locker room during media access.
Allen addressed the issue Monday.
“I did see that quote, and that’s not the case,” Allen said in reference to Houston saying Allen might not want Houston back. “Obviously I sat down with Lamarr today and had a nice discussion with him. We’d love to have him back. We think he fits our system and what we’re trying to do and we think he’s a guy that we can build with.”

— Allen fired four assistant coaches on the day after the regular-season finale last season. He kept his staff intact this season, and it sounds as if that’s the approach he’s taking for the long-term.
“I don’t anticipate a lot of changes,” Allen said. “We’ll see what happens over the next few days and, obviously, there are a lot of discussions that have to be made. So, it’s probably not the right time to be able to make any type of comments on that, but I’m not looking to make a lot of changes.”

— Allen on Monday met with almost every player on his roster before the players departed the facility for the final time this season. During the team and individual meetings, Allen delivered a straightforward message.
“I said that I don’t plan on going anywhere, I plan on being here,” Allen said. “I talked about, we got 113 days between now and the start of the offseason program and we need to make sure that we have a good plan for what we’re gonna do over these next 113 days.
“I talked to all of them from a free agency standpoint about making sure we keep open lines of communication going. If they have any questions or concerns, they need to make sure that they contact me, and I can give them the right answers. And I told them to make sure they do things the right way off the field. The time to have your name in the paper is during the season, not during the offseason. So, make sure that you do the right things and you stay out of trouble.”

— The Raiders came within six points of setting a franchise record for most points allowed in a season. In particular, the defense struggled down the stretch.
Allen said the Raiders need to improve on third-down efficiency and red-zone defense, for sure.
“We have to do a better job with execution,” Allen said. “Obviously, guys are trying to do things the right way, so we have to look at ourselves. And there’s probably some things that we have to be able to teach better, to clean some things up for them, to make some things easier for them.
“There were times in the second half of the year where the field position got out of hand. Now what we’ve got to be able to do is eliminate the touchdowns and make them have to kick field goals.”

— Cornerback D.J. Hayden said he is recovering well from the groin surgery that ended his rookie season. He now is working toward getting stronger and making the most of a whole offseason, which he didn’t have last season.
The Raiders are counting upon Hayden, their 2013 first-round draft pick, to develop into a top-tier player and linchpin of their defense. Hayden had an up-and-down rookie season before he suffered a groin injury.
Hayden is focused on finding ways to help the Raiders get back to their winning ways and not about validating the Raiders taking him with the 12th pick.
“Something to prove? Man, we just got to win,” Hayden said. “That’s all we got to do. That’s the way to prove to Raiders fans, make them happy, get this organization back to where it was. We just got to win.”

— The Raiders signed the following six players from their practice squad to what is known as futures contracts: OL Jack Cornell, WR Jared Green, TE Brian Leonhardt, defensive end Chris McCoy, linebacker Eric Harper and cornerback Johnny Adams.

? what team has succeeded by building a core of players through Free Agency?
.
And the few teams that bring in a few solid vet free agents lure them with their history of winning and “almost a super bowl team” pitch.

rudegruden

Jon Gruden’s Raiders

RaiderCDE

Yes. He”s as good as Houston at DE – if Houston wants huge money, let him walk and put Walker in his spot.

NYCRaider

i would consider the broncos signing payton manning and their WRs as the “core” of a team who did well in FA?

NYCRaider

Yep, but who cares right?

Gdog

Not without a trade down…

Howard Benner

Well, for a team that continually “shoots themselves in the foot (see Raiders, Oakland), perhaps that’s their rationale. . .but I have to think an all pro center is more thought of than a pretty decent safety (Ward). . .

Hasn’t played since 2011 due to back surgery, but he’s big and is young enough to comeback. I like the pickup.

JOn Wooah

Im telling u , I keep reading and hearing (lincoln kennedy) Raiders are big on Derek Carr from Fresno state

Zymurge

So is your issue that he is doing it the wrong way or just not your prefered way?

rudegruden

Picking up a guy who hasn’t played in two years. That’s Reggie’s style

Alex7

Broncos drafted WR Decker, WR Demayius Thomas, Von Miller, their Pro Bowl LT, Moreno, Ball, Tebow. Made playoffs with those guys. Enticed Manning and Decker because of how close they were (already won a playoff game).
.
Ummm, terrible comparison.

NYCRaider

Saints and Drew Brees are another example

Sir Raider Duck, OMS

We need a QB. We don’t have one right now (although McGloin would make a good backup). Everything else is secondary.

RaiderLen

The “Lovers” list must be small.

How about a list of “Show Me Reggie”

Personally this is a “Show Me” Season upcoming.

No love, just observing.

rudegruden

They were 8-8 until that free agent came in.

It takes Drafting AND FA. You can’t just rely on the draft. You have to do both. However, with smart FA moves you can make huge progress if done correctly.

Zymurge

Smoke screen maybe?

the swanky socialite dr robert

Says a lot about Crawford and Robinson.

NYCRaider

LOL!!my way? really..no i think the 2 4-12 seasons with RM drafting a player who almost died on a football field and created 22-31 million of dead money this year ON HIS OWN where enough to make me concerned.

rudegruden

The lovers list is just the certified crazies. I agree it is a Show me Reggie crowd for the most part. The real problem is there is a large crowd who doubt he can do it. Including myself. 2014 no excuses

That was 2013 no excuses this time last year

Chino

New post.

NYCRaider

yep payton manning is now a “cherry on the top” as is “Wes Welker”..LOL

Alex7

Patriots drafted Brady, Gronk, Ridley, Vereen, Hernandez, their WRs, Nate Solder, L. Mankins, Chandler Jones, Spikes, the corner turned safety…
.
Can prove you wrong all day if you want. FA is what you add when you entice them with how close you are. Otherwise you are the Bills and overpay for Mario Williams without it leading to any more wins.

the swanky socialite dr robert

Yes!

Alex7

8-8 with a playoff win. Don’t forget.

DKnight007

As long as he doesn’t draft injured players within the first 2 rounds IMO. Murray would be a steal in round 3 and he will be ready by OTA’s and training camp. Easley would also be a steal in Round 4!

RaiderCDE

Whoever they sign for a FA QB, their game style needs to be similar to the drafted guy. If we take Manziel, sign Vick. If we take Hundley, sign Freeman. If we take Carr, sign Schaub.

RaiderLen

Nothing wrong with an opinion regarding trusting Reggie.

2014 is the Season that will tell the story for Me personally.

Gdog

What was the purpose of hoarding 70 mill in cap space if we aren’t planning on signing any premier players?
You and Reggie seem to share the same brain, why don’t you explain it for us?

NYCRaider

honestly, how many have transitioned to love RM to show me RM? safest way to avoid being wrong

He and the owner said they were going to blow the team up and fix the cap over the 2012 and 2013 seasons. He did that. Any dead money for those seasons don’t mean schite as long as they don’t carry over damage to 2014 and beyond. Because of that, it’s not realistic to expect any great FA signings prior because the goal was to setup the cap for the next seasons. I’d say it’s precisely mission accomplished based on that criteria.

Wins during a rebuilding phase are mostly meaningless. As far as I’m concerned, if you don’t have a Super Bowl capable team, 0-16 is just as useless as 9-7 and just missing the playoffs, except the former gets better draft positions. It’s all about the big picture and not about individual seasons.

I’m not sure what the issue with Hayden’s near death injury have to do with anything. If it were that injury that came back and caused him to miss the last two thirds of the season it’d be a valid claim. But it wasn’t. In fact, he looked every bit the high draft pick rookie CB in his learning curve during the games he did play.

You can add up a couple of points and call those combined a reason for concern. But when you break them down, individually they are all minor or non-issues.

AutumnThunderstorm

Vick would work for either Manziel or Hundley, Mariota even.
Avoid Freeman, a cancer in the locker room.

DKnight007

Sign Allen as our vet RDE….Allen has plenty left in tank and he adds great leadership….plus he is a Cal product….he would want to come back to Cali weather….and women! haha

RaiderLen

I “loved” the Reggie hire. A departure from something that wasn’t working.
Highly recommended. Came from a successful organization.
He was a Raider.
Now let’s see what he can do.
2014 is the watershed year.
Being wrong is ok. It’s just an opinion.
Right or wrong, for me, regarding His Hiring, will be determined in 2014.

Zymurge

That writing has been on the wall for awhile now. They want a smart, pocket based passer to run the WCO. They are looking to create the next GB offense, which is what Reggie knows.

Evaluating Pryor with a lot of WCO aspects instead of pure read-option show this. DA’s support of McG adn his playing style show this. The signing of Flynn last year as the assumed starter strongly supports this. Even the signing of Edwards for depth show this.

There’s no way in hell they go out and get Vick to backup Manziel, that would be a joke. If anything, they’d keep Pryor for that role as a younger much cheaper version. Which tells me that they aren’t considering Manziel overall. If he ends up there at #5 I wouldn’t be shocked to see them trade down with a team desperate to get Johnny and willing to pay considerably.

The guy that matches the Reggie profile is Murray and he can be gotten possibly with the 5th pick of the 3rd, or if his stock rises, maybe a mid round 2nd that they can trade down for.

NYCRaider

RM has a chance to prove himself in 2014. we just differ regarding his performance the past 2 years. Its ok . I root for RM and like most in here just want wins . I hope I am wrong about RM but the position of Gm seems too much for him IMO

DKnight007

Talk about risks. Its a calculated risk…not as big of a risk that Reggie and Allen took by drafting Hayden and Watson with the 1st two picks last year. Ugh

Mike Floros

Yes, but you’re only telling half the story. They have $49 million in contracts going into 2014, along with $9 mil or so in dead money. There is also a new rule that maintains the cap floor at 90% of total cap space. So while it would be nice for Oakland to do what you suggest, they are contractually bound to do the opposite. Let the near $70 million spending spree commence.

Mike Floros

I love how folks keep saying that McGloin would be a “good backup.” What makes you think that Carr or another free agent would be better than McGloin with another year of develeopment? Heaven forbid you put a team around an undrafted free agent who, upon entering the starter’s role in game 11, took the Raiders from LAST in plays 20+ yards to FIRST.

Mike Floros

You have to be the WORST broken record I’ve ever heard. THE RAIDERS DON’T HAVE A CHOICE. Cap near $128…Salaries and current dead money at $59 mil. They have to spend. Please shut up.

jumpnjiminy

Oh hogwash !

Louis Villegas

I 1000000000% agree with you. I have been saying that the raiders will trade down as many times as possible and pick up 2 of the best available wrs and whatever else they’ll need after free agency, I think murray will be a super sleeper but we should also go after maybe mariota next year or whomever else emerges, but I agree with you all the way